Jump to content
JonP

The Future for TMG

Recommended Posts

As it is obviously FoxPro is not working with 64bit platforms so already it is on its last breath.

How is that obvious? TMG 7 itself works perfectly on my 64-bit system, and has for well over a year. The only thing that doesn't work is the third-party code that produces reports to word processor files, and that has nothing to do with FoxPro.

 

 

Since FoxPro uses old technology there are lots of jumping through hoops going on because of "3rd party interfaces/services". I should have reworded my sentence to "It is obvious that FoxPro is not fully compatible with Windows 7 64bit OS and in the future will slowly become less and less compatible." There are people already reporting issues with VFP9 and IE 9, 32 bit OLE DB interfaces, 32bit web interfaces.. pretty much a bunch of 32bit old interfaces to "3rd party apps/services".

 

So yes VFP9 works in 64bit Windows 7 but does it work perfectly well? The answer is no. Will it work better in the future? The answer is no since there will be no more upgrades. Will VFP9 work worst in the future? The answer is yes because it's technology will become more and more obsolete as newer operating systems come out until there are no more work arounds. TMG/FoxPro is heading to a cliff, a dead end.. Unless TMG get's written in a new programming language that FULLY works with current technology. Can someone at least state that TMG will be rewritten in a new programming language? Is the new report writer at least being written in some new programming language that possibly they are planning to use for the TMG rewrite? I hope the answer is yes. With a yes answer I think so many people's worries would be over and TMG I suspect would probably even get some new and old users to come back.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
If the problem is with the 64 bit THIRD-PARTY code and since that seems to be the big hold-up for version 8, why not release 8 with the widespread knowledge that the problem is outside TMG.

You are talking about a 16-bit library. That library is not used in TMG8 so it is a non-issue in the development of TMG8.

 

The entire report manager/report output code has been written from scratch for TMG8. Once the loose ends are cleaned up, I would suspect that TMG8 will be released.

 

 

The report issue specific to TMG 7 is a 16 bit issue but a quick search on the web on VFP 9 bugs will show a bunch of 32 bit issues with printing, and other 90's technologies..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It has been stated that WG is a small company, does not make big bucks and is just a couple of guys with a hobby and a love for genealogy that wrote TMG. So if TMG is not a money maker then what is the drive to jump through hoops slaving over obsolete code? What is the payoff to rewrite all these years of code in a whole other programming platform?

 

While other companies that are also very small, I am not talking about FTM, are able to add tons of bells and whistles WG has not and has slid way down from top contender http://www.gensoftreviews.com/

 

You're reading something into 'small company' that I did not say. My point was that genealogy companies with the exception of FTM are not Microsoft. They are simply small companies that don't need a storefront or large staffed offices - not in these days of telecommuting. This has nothing to do with or implies anything about income or user base.

 

As far as using volunteers (as another writer commented), it is normal practice - as most of us know - for software companies, including Microsoft, to use volunteer beta testers in the final stages of a new release. Volunteers staff the majority of the online forums and mailing lists. It makes no sense to link volunteerism to the viability of a company.

 

Virginia

 

 

Sorry if I read something into what you said that you did not mean..

 

You said:

 

"We're not talking big business here. I think you will find that the majority of the popular genealogy software 'companies' (with the exception of FTM) consist of one or two owner-developer-programmers, often working out of their homes with a handful of staff, maybe holding a second job, heavily dependent on volunteers for testing and support. Consider the number of genealogy programs and the user base shared among them; look at the revenue stream - with a couple of years between major releases. For example, TMG does not charge for interim updates."

 

To me what you said does talk about how much money WG makes.. Second Job? Heavily dependant on a QA team and support team that are not paid? One or maybe two developers working? Low user base shared between all the genalogy programs? revenue stream is low because there is too much time between major releases? I don't think I read too much into what was stated.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It will be released when it is ready- whenever that is; That is all we know and all we are likely to know before the actual release.

 

Could someone recap and summarise what the latest information from WG is, in relation to the release of V8? Am unable to find it anywhere....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Are we there yet?! This software is slowly being added to the Love and hate list that i have...love it when it works, but so frustrating in a lot of area's. I'm sure it will be great when released, but this story is getting a tad old now and i hope it get's sorted soon.

:cheers: :cheers:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've had TMG from just about the very beginning. I still have a Tutorial with a yellow cover dated 1996. I think that I no longer have what came before that in the way of disks and manuals. So I've been using TMG for at least 15 years.

 

During all those years I've felt a loyalty to WG. Now I don't see WG returning the same loyalty to us as users. They have promised v.8 for several years now and keep saying that it is coming, coming, it's almost here. The latest promise that I remember was it would be not ready by last Christmas but coming very soon and we could pre-order and save 10% when it does come out.

 

Why are we being kept in the dark? I'm beginning to wonder if it really is going to happen. :rolleyes:

 

UPDATE: I just found my "Getting Started" manual for Version 1.0, dated June, 1993. So I guess I really do go back to the roots of TMG.

Edited by Neil

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just a refresher for those joining late...

 

 

Descendancy Narrative of TIt Master Genealogist

 

 

 

Version 1 tmg was born in Jul 1993. It died in Oct 1996 at age 3 years.

 

1 Version 2 tmg was born in Oct 1996. It died in May 1997 at age 7 months.

 

1.1 Version 3 tmg was born in May 1997. It died in May 1999 at age

2 years.

 

1.1.1 Version 4 tmg was born in May 1999. It died on 22 May 2002

at age 3 years.

 

1.1.1.1 Version 5 tmg was born on 22 May 2002. It died on 21

Dec 2004 at age 2 years, 6 months and 29 days.

 

1.1.1.1.1 Version 6 tmg was born on 21 Dec 2004.1 It died

on 28 Dec 2007 at age 3 years and 7 days.

 

1.1.1.1.1.1 Version 7 tmg was born on 28 Dec 2007.

 

So the wait has been a bit longer than between version 6 and version 7 but not outrageously so.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
So the wait has been a bit longer than between version 6 and version 7 but not outrageously so.

 

But if I remember correctly, version 6 had about 15 updates whereas version 7 has only had 4. During the version 6 era, we were getting monthly newsletters, now it seems to be maybe 2 or 3 a year. A little more communication goes a long way.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was cleaning out an old cabinet and found the floppies for pre-release demo of TMG v.96d and the TMGDemo disk for v1.0. Also have 1.1, 1.2, 1.2A, 2.0, 2.2, 2.3, as well as 4.0, 5.0, 6.0..... Currently running v7.04 Gold on Vista desktop and Windows 7 laptop, both running on 64 bit OS.

 

I no longer have a computer that has a floppy drive, so they go in the trash bin. Cannot recycle them.

 

Let's see what v8.0 has to offer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I've had TMG from just about the very beginning. I still have a Tutorial with a yellow cover dated 1996. I think that I no longer have what came before that in the way of disks and manuals. So I've been using TMG for at least 15 years.

 

During all those years I've felt a loyalty to WG. Now I don't see WG returning the same loyalty to us as users. They have promised v.8 for several years now and keep saying that it is coming, coming, it's almost here. The latest promise that I remember was it would be not ready by last Christmas but coming very soon and we could pre-order and save 10% when it does come out.

 

Why are we being kept in the dark? I'm beginning to wonder if it really is going to happen. :rolleyes:

 

UPDATE: I just found my "Getting Started" manual for Version 1.0, dated June, 1993. So I guess I really do go back to the roots of TMG.

 

 

Still a loyal but worried fan of TMG. Have been in the TMG fold since early in V.4 (1999).

 

Having been into computers since 1961, I have never seen the chaos TMG has faced during the life of TMG 7. Microsoft has churned out 2 different operating systems with little thought to quality, "upward compatibility" and its users (I paid extra to not be "upgraded to Vista" on my last computer purchase). FoxPro has pulled the plug. With that triple snake bite, there can be little surprise that TMG plans have been greatly adversly affected.

 

Patiently waiting and hoping,

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
So the wait has been a bit longer than between version 6 and version 7 but not outrageously so.

 

But if I remember correctly, version 6 had about 15 updates whereas version 7 has only had 4. During the version 6 era, we were getting monthly newsletters, now it seems to be maybe 2 or 3 a year. A little more communication goes a long way.

As I remember, Bob made a promise to release version 6 "by the end of the year". It seems that he may have released it a bit early to meet that commitment, so a number of bug fixes were required in successive sub-releases. He does not want to do that again. And neither do we.

 

I think WG has had some significant challenges in making TMG work in the 64 bit Windows. Maybe part of the problem is the many features and flexibility in the product, making it rather complex. We love these features and flexibility, but we want the product to work properly. We hope WG are working diligently to get TMG8 to do that.

 

Pierce

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Seems I heard somewhere that one of the Microsoft tools used to build TMG was supposed to be updated and MS was late getting that update out and that that set the TMG schedule back a bit.

This can be categorized as fan fiction. Where do you come up with such things?

 

It would be helpful if people limit their discussions to things that they actually know. There is considerable fiction in a number of recent posts regarding the status of TMG8 and the reasons for the delay.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
There is considerable fiction in a number of recent posts regarding the status of TMG8 and the reasons for the delay.

 

It sure would be nice to get an official update on the status of TMG8, but even more frequent newsletters would be reassuring.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

IIRC, It was something that came up in a discussion at the Knoxville FGS last August. I know I didn't just make it up.

 

Seems I heard somewhere that one of the Microsoft tools used to build TMG was supposed to be updated and MS was late getting that update out and that that set the TMG schedule back a bit.

This can be categorized as fan fiction. Where do you come up with such things?

 

It would be helpful if people limit their discussions to things that they actually know. There is considerable fiction in a number of recent posts regarding the status of TMG8 and the reasons for the delay.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×